HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Convicted sex offender Ricky Santos Cruz will serve a decade behind bars, a “tough sentence” that Attorney General Douglas Moylan said reaffirms his stance that “pedophiles deserve prison.”
The 10-year sentence is for each of the four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with four special allegations that the victim was vulnerable, of which Cruz was found guilty.
“Judge (John) Terlaje imposed 10-year sentences for each of the 4 counts to run concurrent to each other, followed by 3 years of parole,” the Office of the Attorney General said in a press release issued Friday.
The sentence serves as a deterrent, according to the OAG.
“Sending a clear, just and strong message throughout our community that the people of Guam will catch, convict and lock up pedophiles. These criminals not only harm our children, but also inflict lasting damage to our community. It is a despicable crime that has little, if any, chance to rehabilitate the pedophile,” the OAG said in the release.
Five months ago, Cruz was found guilty of inappropriately touching a young girl when she was in the fourth grade.
“(For) the lifetime scarring pedophiles like Ricky Santos Cruz did to minors, (the) Guam Legislature must mandate life without parole for pedophiles,” the AG said.
